Stalked by the Alpha

Part 13: Don't Panic

I sat in my ecology class, resolutely avoiding a certain green gaze that had been fixed on me all morning. There was a test coming up in the class next week and I needed to focus, but that was proving significantly more challenging with the presence of a certain someone. I was also incredibly irritated at Gabe right now after what happened at breakfast, so I stubbornly was looking everywhere but his direction. I felt a sharp poke in my side and I jumped, then looked over at a smiling Max. He was dressed in a white polo that was so clean it looked like a piece of paper and his smile was almost as blinding. 

 He leaned over to me and whispered, "Hey, do you want to study for the test together? I heard that Professor Johnson's tests are killer."

I smiled warily, "Sure that would be nice! Maybe we could get a group together!" Max was so charming and his smile was so genuine that I couldn't bring myself to disagree, even though I normally would have, but there was no way I would ever feel comfortable enough to study alone with him. One on one contact with people, especially men, often left me with a cold sweat and a heart that was beating too fast. Over the professor's lecture I heard a low growl from the other side of the room and finally I whipped my head over to glare at Gabe. He was glowering at us with a ferocity that made me swallow hard and my gaze faltered a bit. I steeled myself and then returned the glare, only breaking it when the professor dismissed us from the lecture hall. 

I scurried out of the building without checking to see where Gabe was. Checking my phone, I noticed another text message coming from the same unknown number, but this time it read, 'Prepare yourself darling.' Frowning to myself, I pocketed my phone and was about to enter into the cafeteria when I was grabbed from behind, lifted over a broad shoulder, and carried away. My world was upside down, and saying I was panicking was a major understatement. I tried to breath deeply, but my lungs felt like they were filling with water. My vision was getting blurry, and holding myself upright against the back of the person carrying me proved impossible. I flopped limply against the back of the person who was carrying me, letting my hair hang upside down, trying to cling to consciousness desperately. I was dimly aware of being lowered to the ground, with lots of movement around me.

"Shit Gabe, what did you do now?" Paige sounded beyond angry. "It was bad enough that you openly disrespected her at breakfast."

"I did what?"

"Oh my god you are clueless." Gabe replied with a growl and Paige trailed off into unintelligible mutters. The spots were fading from my vision and I could feel the sparks from Gabe's hand on my hip.  

I shakily sat up and wiped the sweat that had accumulated off my forehead. We were in a deserted classroom. Gabe was bending over me and Paige was sitting next to him with a scowl on her face, typing furiously on her phone to who I assumed I was John. "Sorry," I muttered. I struggled to my feet, ignoring Gabe's outstretched hand and staggered over to where my backpack was resting on a desk by the door, next to Paige's bright pink backpack and Gabe's blue one, with his car keys resting next to it. 

"Evan, may I inquire where the hell you are going? Because you can't walk yet. You were passing out less than a minute ago," Paige asked in an overly polite voice. I guess I was still slightly out of it, because I replied in a low voice, "Because I'm not allowed to do that. He said so." I flinched when both Gabe and Paige growled and without attracting too much attention to myself, I pulled the keys off the table and into the pocket of my jeans. 

"Who did?" Paige's tone was light and casual, but it felt forced, like I was a skittish horse she didn't want to run off. But I just shook my head quickly and shoulder my backpack, then walked out of the classroom quickly, shutting the door behind me. I was getting too close to revealing my secrets, and that couldn't happen. I knew that once they knew, they would hate me just like I hated myself for being weak. I wiped a few stray tears that had gathered unexpectedly, and pulling my bag tightly onto my back, started to run, ignoring the shouts from behind me.

 Pulling out the car keys from my pocket, I practically sprinted across the campus, praying that I would find the car in time. In my intense panic, I hit the alarm button out of instinct. A shiny black Ferrari near the end of the lot started screaming in response and I changed directions without missing a beat. I was gasping for breath and I slid into the car with a force that almost sent me careening to the other side of the car. I righted myself quickly and turned the car on, exhaling when it came to life with a purr. I flew backwards with a gasp, unused to the power on the car. Pulling forward with a squeal of the tires, I glanced in the rear view mirror and saw Gabe standing there with a forlorn expression on his face. But his eyes were a vibrant yellow, casting an eerie glow on the sad expression. A traitorous tear slipped down my face, but I pulled away anyway. The farther away I drove from his muscular frame, it felt like there was a cord that was being pulled tighter and tighter on my spine. My soul hurt, and I was sobbing uncontrollably. But my fear of losing him because he hated me was so strong that it kept me driving. 

I drove as far as I could, but eventually I was crying so hard that I couldn't see. I pulled into the parking lot of a mall, and wiping my face off with the sleeve of my shirt and pulled my backpack out of the car with me. I carefully locked the car and tucked the keys under the wheel. I knew that Gabe's pack could track the car here and I didn't want to be responsible for the theft of it. I walked aimlessly, with no real goal except to get away. I searched in the front pocket of my backpack and found about 100 dollars in cash. That was more than I had to work with the last time, so it was fine with me. 

My head was aching by the time I found a cheap motel. I was dehydrated and exhausted, and the mark on my neck was screaming in protest every time I turned my head or shifted my shoulders. The hotel room was similar to the ones that I was familiar with, sporting a tiny rundown bed and a dirty bathroom, but my standards weren't high enough to complain. I climbed into the shower, disregarding the tepid water and terrible pressure. Even with the shower as hot as it could go, I was shivering. After I dried off, I pressed my hand to my forehead, and wasn't that surprised to find it burning up. Groaning, I pulled on the same shirt I had on before and climbed into bed. An uneasy sleep overtook me and I dreamt of yellow eyes and green eyes.

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